The present invention relates to fabric-finishing operations.
Finishing means the set of operations which are carried out on fabrics to confer on them certain characteristics which improve their appearance, presentation, and drape and render them more suitable for the purposes for which they are intended.
Finishing or dressing techniques involve problems of a mechanical, physical and chemical nature. In general, during finishing, account must be taken of the possible reactions of the fabric to the mechanical operations, to humidity, to heat, to steam and to the various chemical reagents. The methods of carrying out the finishing therefore depend on many factors such as, for example, the type and quality of the raw material, the physical properties of the fibres, the susceptibility of the fabric to absorb auxiliary finishing products, the susceptibility of the material to chemical change, etc.
All this involves the need to modify the operative parameters of the finishing step according to the type of fabric (woollen fabrics, cotton fabrics, mixed fabrics with chemical fibres, combed fabrics, carded fabrics, etc.) and according to the type of treatment to be achieved. There are many finishing steps to which a fabric may be subjected and amongst these may be mentioned wet treatment with enzymes or complementary finishing products, raising of fabrics, washing, bleaching, etc. Some fabrics, owing to their nature, require the finishing treatment to be carried out whilst they are spread out whereas others can be washed in ropes. Moreover, according to the type of treatment, steps may be carried out wet, that is, in the presence of a bath, with moist fabric (which has previously been subjected to wringing or spinning), or with dry fabric.